Taking the gloves held out by a member of the forensic team, Maya waited for Nik to don his and then walked in front of him to show him the way. Hopefully, he’d be smart enough to follow her lead in these circumstances.
The woman stepping forward to greet her wore a badge and a scowl. Bessy Halls was a good detective and one of Maya’s preferred officers to work with. There was no one-upmanship with her. Bessy did her job well, passed in the appropriate paperwork on time and could be relied on to be discreet. A hell of a lot better than many of the penis-porters who were out to prove their size.
As a matter of respect, Maya held out her hand. “Hey, Bess, appreciate the call. What have you got for
us
?”
Bessy smiled a greeting and then spotted the man behind her. “Max!” With a leap of joy, she flung her arms around Nik’s neck and swayed back and forth while pounding him on the back as if burping her little one.
Since the beautiful black lady not only wore a large smile but also sported strong arms and a healthy hold, Nik returned the hug and felt foolish grinning in the way he thought his brother might have done. “Hey, gorgeous, I missed you too.”
Maya knew she was being silly, but seeing Nik in another woman’s arms didn’t sit well with her. Muscles tightened in her tummy and let her know that though her reaction had been visceral it had been no less annoying.
Funny thing—Max could have stripped naked and had full blown sex with the woman and it wouldn’t have bothered Maya one little bit. Well, other than the annoyance of having to arrest two people she liked for indecent exposure and gross lewdness.
She finally snapped. “Break up the love fest, you two. Appreciate you including us on this one, Bess.”
“Yeah, well, I know you’re working on the Trafficking Case and I figured this incident was right up your alley.”
“Thanks, pal. Show us what you’ve got.”
Bessy grabbed both sides of Nik’s face and planted a big smooch on the right-side dimple that was now prominent. “Sugar, you’re a sight for sore eyes. We’ll have to celebrate your return from the dead later.” Her expression turned serious and her voice changed, lowered, becoming emotional. “Can’t tell you how many times I got called out about a deceased male and worried myself sick it might have been you.” With another hard slap on his arm, Bessy swung to Maya and said. “Okay, agent lady, I’m coming.” She led the way to the container that had been taped off and stepped inside where lights were set up so they could sweep the crime scene once the ME had done his initial investigation.
The sickening heat hit Maya as soon as she moved in from the entrance. Good Lord! It was hard to breathe in the putrid, dead air. A person almost had to gulp it; the texture was so thick it punished the lungs.
“Hi, Maya. Figured you’d catch this one.” Stepping away from the body, the coroner, a bald good-looker swung his appreciative brown sparklers in her direction and winked. Reaching over the covered corpse, he held out his hand and shook Nik’s. “Good to see you alive, Agent Foster.”
“Thanks, man.” Max had primed him well.
If you don’t know the name, just use the generic “man.” I do it all the time.
Maya crouched down. “May I?”
“Sure, the MEs have finished with her. They’ll transport her to the morgue soon. Wanted you to see the crime scene, though, before then.”
“Thanks.” Maya lifted the shroud and sat back on her heels, away from the stench. She’d never gotten used to the nostril-pinching stink of death. Or the painful reaction she suffered whenever the victim was young—male or female. For the next few nights, she’d be experiencing reactionary nightmares for sure, and her brief crying spells over these cases had never stopped.
Guess she should be glad that she hadn’t become cynical about the heart-rending atrocities. Rather than hardening her like it had so many others, her pervasive streak of humanity demanded she did the best job she could for each victim. Thankfully, her acting skills had also greatly improved. No one knew the gut-wrenching torment she suffered.
Nik coughed, covering his mouth. It drew her eyes to him and she saw that he’d guessed her secret. The flash of sorrow he shared before he’d deadened his own expression had been for her alone. Damned if it didn’t make her feel better.
Surveying the body, Maya surmised that the girl couldn’t have had her fifteenth birthday yet. Nor could she have been any prettier.
Poor baby!
Maya acknowledged the approaching ME. He’d been waiting to give her the information he knew she’d be asking for.
“Cause of death?” From the look of the shrunken eyes and swollen tongue, Maya had a pretty good idea, but it was best to ask—professional courtesy.
“Dehydration. She might have lasted three days, maybe less, because of the heat. From the look of the shriveled, irritated skin, the poor girl suffered until ketosis kicked in and her kidneys and other organs began to fail.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Looks like she did a number on her arms and legs, scratched herself bloody raw.” Sadness threatening, Maya forced it back as usual. She couldn’t afford to show her reaction. Not yet. Not here.
“She did.” Nik had wandered to the other end of the container and pointed to the wall near where the young girl had made herself a nest of old papers and scraps of wood. “She’s left a message.” He scanned his flashlight over the bottom of the wall where there looked to be distinct letters written in dripping darkened blood.
Maya went to have a look, swaying slightly as she gained her feet. “Can you make out what it says?”
Squatting, Nik aimed the flashlight closer and read the message. “‘
Mai 14 help her.’
That’s it.”
After taking her own pictures with her cell, Nik saw Maya’s gesture that she’d gotten everything she needed. Earlier, the temperature had registered ninety-five in the shade, humid as hell, but he’d never been so glad to go outside.
He’d noticed that Bessy had disappeared, and the rest of the folks working the area were busy. The ME who Maya had called Ray followed them outside. Stopping her with a proprietary hand on her arm that Nik had a primeval urge to break, he asked for a minute.
Easy…Down, big boy!
Not sure what the procedure was, Nik let Maya do the talking while he studied the surroundings. The port looked to be a very busy place. Hundreds of containers, docked ships being unloaded by huge cranes and numerous vehicles crowded onto a small area.
A large eighteen-wheeler caught his attention. Near the back of the now empty trailer walked a heavy-set man. His shifty surveillance of the surroundings spiked Nik’s interest. When the nervous fellow rounded the corner of the warehouse, he stopped dead, his eyes widening from seeing all the cop cars and uniforms bustling around.
Nik sensed something amiss and began to move in the fat man’s direction. Seeing the agent approaching, the prick’s face registered first fear and then panic. Quickly, swinging back in the direction he came from, he headed for the driver’s side of the truck and Nik’s instincts kicked in.
Pushing himself hard, he made it to the vehicle just as the idiot had started the engine and begun to swing the steering wheel. With a leap that he’d perfected in basic training, Nik reached through the open window and grabbed hold of the wheel. With Max’s Luger pressed to the other’s cheek, he forced the runner to make a decision—gas or brake. “You better stop right now, fuckie, or your pea brain will be plastered all over the windshield.” The gun, held by an unbending, hard-eyed Nik, convinced the lowlife that his best choice was to stop.
By the time Nik had flung the quivering, whining sack of shit from the interior and had him on his knees, Maya had run up, followed by the few others. “Get down on the ground. Hands behind your back. Do it! Now!” Her voice snarled the commands before Nik had a chance. Good thing. He had no idea how to give the correct orders to a fugitive. Seems that Max hadn’t covered everything.
Turning to him, Maya grinned. “Good work, Agent Max.”
Obviously, there was a message in her words. The others snickered. But he had no frigging idea why. Another thing Max had left out.
“You did good today,
Max
.” Maya drove slowly back to the office. Nik snorted and glared in her direction. She knew very well who he was, and, for some strange reason, he disliked her calling him by his brother’s name.
“Don’t get pissed.” Maya’s voice softened.
“I’m not.” He turned away.
“Yes you are. I can see it in your face. Your dimple is showing from clenching your teeth.”
Swiveling back to face her, he grunted. “First of all, I don’t clench my teeth. And second—I don’t have dimples.” The sneer came through loud and clear, even to him.
“Technically, you’re right. They’re more like laugh lines. Except you never laugh, so they must be there from—”
“When I grit my teeth. You’re nuts. Why are you calling me Max when we’re alone?”
“If I don’t, I’m afraid I’ll forget and call you Nik in front of the others. How about I just call you Swift? That was some fast move you made today. I’ve never seen anyone who can react like you did. Well, there is a certain resemblance to the Road Runner in the Wile E. Coyote films.”
Her teasing grin relaxed his stiff demeanor and he replied, “You’re crazy. But I see what you mean about forgetting in public. Guess you’re right.”
“What? A male who agrees with a female? Watch my heart!”
“Don’t get too used to it.” He grinned evilly and settled back in his seat. Maybe working with the red-headed darling was going to succeed better than he’d thought. He hoped so. Until Max was strong enough to be able to defend himself, and he took up his rightful place, it would be better if he remained in hiding. Considering how Nik had had to use strong-arm tactics to get his stubborn twin to agree with this exchange at all, he’d had to let him call some of the shots. When they’d argued about telling Maya that Max was alive, Max had negated that suggestion instantly… and forcefully. “Bad enough that she’ll be culpable for you acting as an agent and could lose her badge for playing along. But if she knew I was alive, she’d be even more prone to call it in. That woman plays by the book.”
Interrupting his wanderings, Maya questioned. “How did you know the truck driver had something to do with the dead girl?”
“I didn’t. But he looked mighty guilty when he saw all the cops and police vehicles. When he ran for his truck, I just knew I had to stop him and talk to the dude.”
“You have good instincts. Your perp, Al Bard, has a list of misdemeanors a mile long and has been incarcerated a number of times—mostly vandalism, hauling stolen goods and drug possession. The fact that he had a bag of cocaine in his shirt pocket and a couple of stolen guns under his seat gives us leverage. He’s looking at some hard time if he doesn’t talk.”
“You sound gleeful.”
“I am.” She chuckled and he liked the sound.
“Who’ll be interviewing him?”
“We will. They’re booking him and taking him to the field office.”
“Ah! That’s why you’re happy. You get to intimidate the poor bastard.”
“That poor bastard could have had something to do with our young girl being left to die all alone in that furnace with no food or water. Yeah, you bet I want to talk to him.”
Nik heard the pain in her voice and zeroed in on her anger. “You care too much. It must rip your heart out every time you come up against a case like this.” He waited while she made up her mind whether to trust him or not. He glanced her way and saw her bite down on that lush bottom lip that caught his eye more than he liked. Fantasizing about how sweet it had tasted during their kiss drove him wacky and he wished he could get her taste out of his head.
She took a deep breath that ended in a weepy sound and it went straight to his heart, tore a large gash through the middle, and left him yearning to cuddle her closely.
Words seemed to break loose of their own accord. “Some nights I can’t sleep. The victims won’t stop haunting me.” Her voice had lost its teasing quality and had become somber and sad… and hesitant. As if she didn’t know why she was sharing but had no choice.
He was glad she did. And to acknowledge her lowering her boundaries, he decided to pay back in kind.
“Me too! I can’t stop seeing the shattered bodies of three of my men who’d followed me into a mine field. I made it through and they didn’t, and I’ll never know why. One wrong step…” His voice broke and he shut up.
Reaching over from her side of the car, she slid her hand inside of his and smiled when he squeezed tightly. “Two night wanderers with nightmares. Call me anytime that they won’t give you peace.”
“Works both ways.” He cleared his throat and was glad to see the parking lot as they pulled into their slot.
“What do we do now?” Nik scanned the forms that Maya threw across to him. “What’re these for?”
“I got this info from the FBI data bank. Read it over and search out: Al ’s last known address, girlfriends, employer, places he likes to hang out. Whatever we have on him is there. I’m going to see if those videos I requested were sent over from the dock and whether the IT guys have found anything yet.”
“Will they have them for the last few days?”
“The manager said their equipment is faulty. He’s sending over everything they have, but he doesn’t hold out much hope that we’ll find a lot of decent footage.”
“Can I go in with you when you interrogate Mr. Bard?”
“Of course, it would look weird if you didn’t. By the way, partner, you have an uncanny ability to tell when someone is lying, and a good sense of when to break into the conversation. If you get the irresistible urge to do your thing, feel free. Otherwise, let me handle the bastard.” Nik heard the warning and had full intentions of following Maya’s advice. No way did he want to obstruct their chances of obtaining credible intelligence.
***
An hour later, Maya waved for him to follow her. “They’ve got him set up in one of the interview rooms and we’re good to go at him now. Did you find anything useful?”
“Not much. The guy’s a loser. Supposedly, he just started working for the trucking company, Smith & Sons. I called their office for a lowdown. I think we should check them out.”
“Why, what happened?”
“They weren’t too forthcoming on the phone, said they’d never heard of Al Bard. Their truck had been stolen that morning and he was most likely the thief. I did a rundown on their business. Found some discrepancies.”
Maya stopped and turned to him. “How did you get into the computer?”
“I didn’t. Got Ladybug to do it for me.” He smiled with a wicked glint in his eyes that made Maya laugh.
“I’m not even gonna go there. How you men get that poor girl to do those ‘little chores’ for you all the time, I’ll never know. Anyway, what did you find out?”
“The old company, New Orleans Shipping, sold last year to Smith & Sons, who’ve lost a lot of business ever since. Doesn’t seem to be affecting their bottom line, though. Makes a person wonder how they’re staying alive in the competitive world of shipping and long-distance hauling. I think we should pay them a visit.”
“Sounds like a good idea. First, we’ll talk with the perp and see if he knows anything about his so-called employer, as well as the dead girl.”
“Have they identified her yet?” As they traveled the long corridor of the brightly-lit office, they carried on with their conversation.
“Interpol is searching now. Because the container arrived from Singapore, we’re sure she came from either Thailand or the Philippines, their favorite hunting grounds. Those two countries are a haven for human trafficking. From there, it’s easy to gather shipments of girls for either sexual or labor exploitation. If a market has now been set up in the U.S. for those poor young women, the dudes we’re talking about would have no compunction about hiding them in containers and shipping the merchandise overseas. All they need are connections placed in strategic places to facilitate the process.”
“So you’re sure she traveled to the U.S. in that container?”
“Not necessarily. We know she spent days in there from the crime scene investigation, but it doesn’t prove she arrived in that same container. In fact, from the condition of the inside, I’d say it wasn’t likely. Unfortunately, we got next to nothing on those surveillance videos. Almost looks as though they’ve been tampered with. The port authorities, with the help of some of our people, are looking into it now. Anyway, I’m hoping that our friend, Al Bard, can tell us more about her story.”
Nik added, “My thoughts are about Mai, who’s only fourteen.” Those words written in blood had haunted him ever since he’d shined his flashlight on them.
“Me too. God… I hope we can find out more about where she might be now.”
“You think this idiot will know?”
“We can only hope. Not only that he knows, but that he’ll share. If I can get him to care more about saving his own ass than his boss’s, maybe we can find out.”